Telephone systems including fixed line and mobile telephones (hereinafter collectively referred to as “phones”) are an essential communication tool in modem society. Advances in telecommunications has enabled both voice and data transmission over phones thereby allowing these phones to have additional functions such as short message services (SMS), network capability such as email, and Internet access. There are also a variety of standard (and de facto standard) local-area and personal-area wireless (WLAN and WPAN) protocols which a phone may utilize to provide local network access, for example via radio or infrared.
Phones are traditionally controlled via the use of keypads to enter the required phone numbers. Other control functions include last number redial and, in more advanced systems, voice-activated dialing.
The form factor of phones may be constrained by their need to provide a user interface in the form of a keypad and/or a display.